Pleusgadh na bulgóide; or, The bursting of the bubble

Hyde, Douglas

Pleusgadh na bulgoide

From the Library

of
PADRAIG 6 BROIN

DA buljoioe

)r the Bursting
)f the Bubble, .

y An cuAOitMn AOitMrm,

Vith Translation and .
llustrative Notes

;y 5- 5-

CO!

8i

co=

O!

cn?

00=

. . .

til

ac/h

Or the Bursting of the Bubble,

By An cnAomfn

With Translation and
Illustrative Notes, . .

By 5. 5. ^>

A
tli Cotuill,

1 n-^on j;niorh.)

true

true th T)ui-oin.

Hi f inn.
ttlic Hi

t)ex\n 'fi
Aide-de-camp.

An

. — An Seomfi-A Coic^ionn 1

UA m6|\^n oltArh ^511^ ppopof up 'n^ f vn-be no

ACA.

1 i.e., The Bursting of the Bubble. A comedy in one act. Dramatis
Personce :— Magaffy, Mac Ee Doodeen (the son of the little pipe),
Mac Ee Thraule (the son of the slave), Mac Ee Treeal, Mac Ee Finn,
Mac Ee Finn's wife, the Viceroy, the wife of the Viceroy, Aide-de-
camp, Dr. Mac Hatkin, the Poor Old Woman, Porters, etc.

SCENE. — The Common room in the Bubble College. Many ollamhs
and professors sitting and standing about, caps and gowns on some of
them. [The word bxitjoi-o, " bubble," bears a auspicious resemblance
to Cf lonoiT), " Trinity." — Translator's Note."]

tttAC

Yeth Thir, the whole thing's a thwindle, this
Irish language business was never meant to be any-
thing else.

An ^exMi eile8:

How a swindle ?

ttlAC

A thwindle I tell you in every pothible way. In
the firth place there's no Irish language at all. There
may have been one a thousanth yearth ago, which I'm
doubtful of, but thertainly there is none now.

AH

But don't they teach it in the Intermediate ?

ttlAC

That's where the thwindle conies in. I have the
beth pothible reason for knowing that what they call
their modern language is an appalling jargon. It's
really only a theries of grunts and thqueals and snorts
and raspings in the throat. Finn tells me he can't
underthand a wodh of it. All our experths say it
has no grammar of any kind. It is not rich enough
to expreth the most commonplaith ideas and it's in-
expethibly indethent ; and this, if you plea the, is the

1 Magaffy, talking to another man. 3 The other man.

4 Magaffy. 8 The other man.

3

'tuff that is being taught and paid for, at the e* penth

of us taxpayers.

AH fedft eite:

But I hear they set papers. It doe& seem a
scandal !

tTIAC eAt^Alt):

Thcandal ! I should think so. It's the greatest
thcandal I remember since I first dined at the Castle.
I've said so in the Blagardaeum. It's a dodge to
secure money without earning it.

ATI peAtt eite:

How so? For I'm told the Irish language, or some-
thing that passes for it, is taught in many schools now
like anything else ?

tTIAC GAtpAlt):

Taught ! What nonthense ! Don't you under-
thand by this time that these fellows know, in
pointh of fact, leth about their own language than
we do ? Why, they thimply loathe it. Ninety per
thent of them desire to have done with it altogether.
I said that plainly to the Commithioners. Why, all
the modern cultivation of the Irish language origin-
ated here in our own College. Old Gammon told
them that.

Ati eAti eite:

But haven't they an Irish Examiner ?

rnAc

They had a thing that passed for one ; but as they
don't really know their own language, I've got them
a Ruthian from St. Petersburg to examine them
this year, and next year I'm thinking of a Mon-
golian Tartar, recommended to me by my friend the
King of Greece, who, perhapth you don't know, in
an exthellent linguitht. He said to me one day :
" Magaffy," said he - .

ATI peAft eite:

Yes ! yes ! Then they don't teach Irish after all.

ITIAC eAUj:Ait>:

Here's what they do. If a boy can write down
the jargon for " I am, you are, he is," they'll give
him a hundred per thent. of marks and secure the
money for some low school of theirs.

An peAn eite:

You mean their examiners over-mark their boys.

ITIAC

Yeth, of course. And even that confounded
Ruthian is not to be trusted. He's turning out as
bad as any of them, with his over-marking. Now
I go on the printhiple that all marks given to
Irish muth be over-marks, because the thubject in
itself is so disguthing.

ATI jreAti eite:

I don't quite follow that.

ttlAC

Bah ! There's nothing strange in what I say.
It's an old, sound principle ; we've always applied it
here.

AH peAn eile :

Yes, you may. But how about the examiners ?

tttAC eAtfArO:

It's true the Kuthian turned out to be a man with-
out any common thense, but now I've this Mongol-
ian Tartar, who, I can tell you, is a prudent fellow.
He has got from me a straight hint for the year after
next, if he wanth to be kept on. My friend the
King of Greece, as I was just telling you - .

AH peAn eite:

Yes, yes ! I understand ; but tell me this—are
the papers too easy.

ITIAC GAtpAVt):

Just look at them.

[CAjijiAinjeAtin f e ATTIAC Af A pocA ixvo.6]

AH peAU eite:

This is the composition paper. [AS teiseA-67] Trans-
late : " The buttermilk was left in the churn." By

6 He pulls them out of his pocket. 7 reading.

6

the way, how would you say that in Greek, Magaffy ?
I suppose the Greeks churned butter ?

ttlAC

A Greek, of courthe, would say — of courthe, a Greek
would say - . Oh, but the whole thentence is
ridioulouth I

Ati veAft eile:

I suppose it could be said in Irish, however.

ttlAC

I very much doubt it. The language, or jargon
rather, is extremely impoverished, besides being
wholly vulgar, filthy, and disguthing, as our experths
have shown. I totally dithbelieve that any body of
men ever carried on a rathional conversation in
what they call Irish. Give me those papers, ploath ;
the very look of them geths on my nerves.

p6 iAt> in A tAim Ajup cAiceAnn f6 AniAfc Aft An
iAt>.8]

Ati

That's the best thing to do with them. Why not
petition Government and get them to purge Irish
Intermediate Education. Would it want an Act of
Parliament ?

Well, I'm always writing to the Englith papers. I
do more than my share of the work. Do you know

*He squeezes them up in his hand and throws them out of the
window.

the ignorance of these native Irish, even of men of
pothition amongst them, is something colossal. They
have never yet learned that there was never any
such thing as an Irish nation nor an Irish literature,
nor, I firmly believe, an Irish language either.

Ati j:eAft eite:

It's wonderful — in spite of Stoneyhurst I

tTIAC eAUFAVO:

But I was telling you what the king said to me.
We were chaffing one another over a whiskey and
soda, " Magaffy," he said --- Hullo ! what's this?

[CA reAn-beAti «.\jvo Ajup ^AtAing jotim jiobAlAc tiijtfti CAJI

eif ceAccA AfceAc. CAgATin fi ruAf Cfn-o AH peomfiA •}
pineAtin pi AtnAc tiA p^ipeA^ATo ceA-onA TOO 6Ait
Af An bpuinneoij;].9

An

You have thrown out these. I have brought them
back to you.

rnAC

Woman, you've no right to be here. How did the
porters let you pass ? Go out at once.

oltAtri eite:11

Oh, that's the old apple woman who talks Irish
outside the College. I expect she's a seditious old
woman.

9 A tall old woman with a ragged blue cloak urouud her is after
entering. She comes forward through the hall and holds out the
same papers that Magaffy had thrown through the window.
10 The old woman. n Another professor.

8

t!1 CtlAllt:

She's an old Irish she-rebel. She looks like one
anyway.

peAti eite:

That's the long blue cloak of the Irish women she's
wearing. I declare I thought we had killed that
dress with the rest of it.

ttlAC 111 cniA1tt:

Old woman, will you be so good as to get out of
that.

eite:

How dare you come in here? You know the
Junior Dean gave express orders that you were never
to be let inside the college gate.

rn AC

I'll put her out.

[CuifteAtin fe A tAm AJI A suAlAinn 4511 p fAitoAnn fe i.]1'2

An

, AH rii6x> 50 bfeAcAtin f i niof Ai|tt)e 'n A tioino
pr», Aj«f AS fincA-o ATTIAC A tAitrietA5«f ftAC innci.]13

Ye miserable men who have reviled me, ye slaves
who belong to no country, ye have insulted me,
pushed me, despised me. I now lay it upon you by the
virtue of my curse that the thing which in this world

1Q He puts his hand on her shoulder and pushes her.
13 Straight-as-a-sword, so that she appears taller than before, and
stretching forth her hand with a wand in it.

9

ye most loathe and dread shall instantly come upon
you.

fe 45 fiub^l 50 mAlt *j 50 fCAit)eAniAit.]14

tttAC

-An Cfe-An-CAiUeAC imtijce : 15

tl1

A ttlic eAtjMit), ni

-AC-A CU ! 16

tTIAC

lAt>.Aij\c

i n^e'Oeils "oo 6«ifv cu pem -An Ceipc
me n-AC f\Aib |?oc^t X)1 ^5^*0. A ttlic

tTlAC

I'm tr' tr' tr' trj. O, -A Ci£eAj\n.A, ni
n-wite f?ocAt T)O t)i -Ag-Am x\|\iAtti

ottAtli eite:

An' an' an' a' a' a' -A^uf -Af mo

CA
mo

14 She departs, walking slow and stately.
16 " The old hag is gone."

16 " Magaffy, it cannot be that it is speaking Irish you are ! "

17 Was it not in Irish that you yourself put the question to him.
I thought you had not a word of it. Magaffy don't shame us, speak
English.

18 I'm tr' tr' tr'. Oh Lord, I cannot. Every word that ever I had
is clean gone out of my head.

19 an' an' an' and out of my head.

10

OttAttl

A' a' a' a' -A^ur -Ar mo 6e^nn-r-A rtieiriti.20

ottArh eite:

O ! A "6e cxvo •6&Anf?,Am,Aoi'o, O ! c-dtn^oit) JM 'OfVAOi'6-

111 CR1A1tt :

O ! fin -An tfi-AtLACc t/pAg -An cpe-An-c-AiUeAC
-An put) bu-6 rhe-AjrA -Ajtif bu-6 gjvAine-AtfilA tmn p,An
•oorh-An t>o te-ACc o|\^mn -Anotf.22

O f m e ! pn e ! tli tug mif e pu^t t>',Aon put)
Corn m6|\ ^gtif *oo Ce^ngxMt!) n^ ci|\e m^Uuijte feo,
i fin 5° "oipe-At 6uip p m mo

in

ttlo n^ipe tu A tthc O-AtpAit) ! t)iiine-UA\fx\t
nuigte m-Afi ttif^, ^5 t-At)xMf\c g^6*61^6 5°
no pebet -Af -An gConnp-At) n-A

fin.24

50 a' a' a' and out of my head also.

31 0 God, what shall we do ? Oh, we are under enchantment.

22 Oh that is the curse the old hag left upon us, that the thing we
loathed and hated most in the world should now come upon us.

28 Oh, that is it, that is it. I never conceived a hatred for any-
thing so much as for the language of this accursed country, and it is
precisely that which she has put into my mouth.

24 My shame you are, Magafly, a finished gentleman like you speak-
ing Irish, just like some traitor or rebel out of that Gaelic League !

11

ITIAC

T)un t)o t>6-At,cu jrem,<A fexxn-peif ce6g n-A
to!, ttifA, -AS CxMnc tn^p p p-Ailpin -Af ContMe Thing 66.
Hi iti$.AltMinn SfUit) p-Aj:con in t>o

punc,A, tntin^ fcopx\nn cu An 5tA|:xMj\neACc pn.25

eite:

A <)x^oine-ti^ifle, n^ c<35<M*6 -An
ttptntmi'o tule 50 tei|\ j?x\ ^n
? l-Aft-Ai eA\nu\mi A ttlic
no

triAC

Ich, ich, ich, — O ! ni ^6x\t)xMn. t)puil
AgAinn -Ann f o -A bj?uit Aon ce-Angx^ xMge ^Cc -An
•6-Atn-Anc-A f o ? 27

rhic u

Gentlemen, excuse my coming into your room, but
I've great news. The Lord Lieutenant and her Ex-
cellency are below, they have just arrived and wish

25 Shut your own mouth you old worm of the books. Don't be tattc-
ing, you, like a spalpeen from the county Mayo. I wouldn't walk
through Grafton Street in your company for a hundred pounds
unless you stop that gibberish.

26 Gentlemen, gentlemen, don't raise dispute. Are we not all under
the same enchantment ? Speak German, Magaffy, or French.

27 Ich, ich, ich — oh, I can't. Is there a man of us here who has any
other language than this damned Irish ?

28 They all. » There is not.

30 Finn's wife, entering.

12

to be shown over the college informally. Edward,
will you come down and I'll introduce you.

1TIAC U1 f 1tltt :
A tfUifie, A tt)-Aij\e, C.A me JM

A
What's that you say ?

tn f inn :

Hi r6^T)-dim -ACC

Gaelic ! Does that mean Irish ? It's perfectly
disgusting of you — though you are my husband !
How can you be so low-minded ?

ITIAC U1 U11A1U:

Hi'l Aon tie-Ape 4156 XMJI, A oex*ti-u-Af\Al, CAm^oit) 50
p-A tttuoi'oeAcc Ann f o.34

I could not have believed it. Edward, if you don't
talk English to their Excellencies I will never speak
to you again.

31 Mary, Mary, I am under enchantment.
s2 His wife.

33 1 arn under enchantment. I can talk nothyig but Irish.

34 He has 110 help for it, lady. We are all of us under enchantment
here.

13

tn firm:

Ace A rrUipe, A rhuijAnin, tix\C ttpeice^nn cu ITAC
35

I never heard anything so low in all my life.

i A|t cAoineA-6].36 Oh, poor mother ! If she could
have foreseen that I was marrying a man who would
talk in Irish the very day their Excellencies did us
such an honour in visiting us.

tttAC 111 UU1A1U:

Cwi|\ i gee" ill t)i 50 b^tnttnit) -p-A •6fVAOiiDe,ACC.37
[CA^Ann fiAt> tiite timciolt tii|t|ti, cttAiteAtin fM-o A jcinti -\
fi'm-o -d SCUTO meA|i te n-A mbeAtAib AJ IIA-O " ni't t)eA|ttA,
ni't t)eA|ttA, ni't, ni't, ni't"].38

You, you're mad, Oh, you're all mad ! Quick,
quick, they're coming, you must speak English, I
tell you. Here, Edward, say this after me — "your
Excellencies are welcome " -

tn firm :

Yo' yo' yo', eh' eh' eh', a' a' a', tli't .AOTI rfi^it arm

86 But Mary darling, do you not see that I cannot?
86 She bursts out crying.

37 Make her understand that we are under enchantment.

38 They all come round about her. They shake their heads and
point their fingers to their mouths, saying, " no English, no English,
no ! no ! no ! "

39 Yo' yo' yo', eh' eh' eh', a' a* a'. There is no use in It, Mary. I
am not able.

14

t)eAtt [teniAcui -
Surely you can say it, come now, after me, "your
Excellencies are welcome." Say " your " —

Yo'

"Excellencies"—

IT! AC
Sh gh 6h—

tCAtl:

My God ! he can't say it either. I see he can't.
Who can ? Dr. Magaffy, surely you must be able —
say " your Excellencies."

Yo» yo' yo'. — ni

Oh, what awful, awful thing has come over them ?
and their Excellencies waiting below all the time !
Who'll go down and receive them ? [imcisexmn f\ AS

A t)A IA1TT1.]42

1UAC eAtpAVO: [te niAc tii

, tuf-A, 'n-A scoinne-Asuf CAb^i|\ fu^f te^c

40 Lady [to Mac Ee Thraulo].
4iYo'yo',— I cannot.

42 She goes out, wringing her hands.

43 Magaffy to Mac Ee Thraule.

44 Go, you, to meet them and bring them up with you.

15

tn<\c tn

, fcti j:6in ! tli f-ACAit) m6 x\n Id"

A? T>O CjAOicionn, AS cup police niof
-Aon "owine eite ficmfi •oume .Aft t>it -Af -An

ITIAC

fhic tli CI\MIU 5x\t>, tufxi, 'n^ gcomne. 1f cu
if pe-Aw t)'^ ttpwit ^Ainn. C-Aitp-6

fVJ^f . t)'eit)1f\

•oo

vn

go i\^it)tnxMt ^5x\t), A ttlic e-AtpAi-6, ^Ccfeo tn^c Hi
t)«i'oin -Atioif A bpuil c-Ait tri6ti ^1|\ m-A|\ f gtrfotindip t3ex\t\-
feife^n. U-A ^itne ^5 ti-uile tinine
tli "OuiDin |\oirhe,]47

tii tnlroTn [As^

50 f AitJ mAit ASxVO-r-A, -ACc ni m^it tiom -AH on6ip.
50 tei|\ gup pe^f curh-At m£.49

45 Go yourself. I never saw the day yet that you would not be leap-
ing out of your skin welcoming, before anybody else, any person who
came from the Castle. Out with you now !

46 Mac Ee Treel, do you go and meet them. You're the best
scholar we have here. You must bring them up. Perhaps they have
heard talk of your <( Letters of Caesar."

47 Thank you, MagatTy ; but here's Mac Ee Doodeen now, who has
a great reputation as an English writer, and he'll go. Every one
knows him. [He piishes Mac Ee Doodeen before him.]

48 Mac Ee Doodeen [escaping from him.]

4<J Thank you ! but I don't de^iie tl.e honour. Ye all know that I
am a shy man.

16

•oomsedn t

Their Excellencies the Lord and Lady Lieutenant
of Ireland and Suite.

[CAjAtin •peAfi-ionxyo-An-Tlii; A^uf A beAti Ajuf A aide-de-camp
no r|iiu^ t>e ninAib tJAifte eile

•oo

IT! AC

pditce i\oirh T>O ttlO|\>6ACc. C6-At) police fvoirti

52

How do you do, Magaffy? I think I had the
pleasure of meeting you before.

ITIAC

oj\m •oo ttl6|At)-ACC "o'f eicpnc in
Aif ce

I know you're an excellent Greek scholar, Magaffy,
but I'm afraid its so long since I left college, that I
don't quite — quite — ah' ---

ITIAC

Oc ! ' 55

60 Porter [at the door].

81 The Lord Lieutenant enters with his wife, two or three other
ladies, and an aide-de-camp.

52 A hundred welcomes to your Greatness ! a hundred welcomes to
your consort !

68 1 am delighted to see your Greatness in our poor College.

64 Magaffy [to the other professors].

55 Oh, if the ground would swallow us 1

17

I don't quite, ah, follow yon, don't you know.
Please introduce me to these gentlemen in English.

tttAC GAtpAI-O [T>e
O ! A ti$e<A|ttiA, n-AC mif e ^n -0101 Cf\tt4ige ! 57

Magaffy, we all know your great learning, but
please don't give us any more of it now. [cei-oe^™ re

fitiCAiiti fe AWAC A tAni 6«m An Oil/Aim fflic tli

You, sir, I also seem to have met before.

1UAC V11 CH1A1U:
Hi f?^CAi"6 me "oo tilojvo^cu

What, more Greek ! Gentlemen, gentlemen,
be so good as to receive the representative of your
Sovereign in your Sovereign's language.

motion gut:61

58 Magaffy [aside].

67 0 Lord ! am I not the object of pity !
53 Viceroy [dissatisfied],

c9 He goes past him, and stretches out his hand to Professor Mac
Se Treeal.

60 1 never saw your Greatness.
81 Many voices. 62 Bitter, alas ! we cannot,

18

Gentlemen, this is really going beyond a joke. I
order — I command you — to stop speaking Greek and
to speak in English.

SOtAtttlA:64
Hi

£eAtl-1Ot1 A1t> l>5 ciontico-6 -O'A aide} : 6«
For God's sake, Crofton, tell me are these men
mad!

AIDE-DE-CAMP :

I don't know, sir ; the whole thing is most extra-
ordinary.

fceAti AH fin-ion AIT) -. 67

Come away, Charles. The thing is quite clear.
Our English coachmen don't know Dublin and they
have brought us to the lunatic asylum instead of the
University.

t)O1USeO1H OS c«t» tAimc cum A bi^ei-D] :«

No, your Excellency, beg your Excellency's pardon,
this is the University.

AIDE-DE-CAMP :

Oh, here^ Dr. Mac Hatkin, the greatest linguist
in Dublin. I luckily met him at the Academy. He'll
interpret.

"Ooccuiji tYlAC ViAircmn

63 Viceroy [angrily]. M Voices. M We are not able.

66 Turning to his aide. m The Lord Lieutenant's wife.

68 Porter, putting his hand to his cap.

19

Dr. Mac Hatkin, will you kindly explain to us why
these gentlemen will only answer us in Greek.

t)oCuum

My lord, I mean your Excellency, I don't under-
stand your question.

A ttlic tiAiccinn A Cfioi-oe, CUIJA i 5c£itl T>6 50 bptnl
i-oMAt op|v<Mtin,.ACC ni'l poc^t \)QA\\IA ^5 T>uine
x\i\ bit 45-Ainn ; c^m^oit) tule 50

There now, Dr. Hatkin, please interpret.

•ooCutlm

Magaffy, what on earth are you saying ?

finn.70

t)oCui3m

I arn astounded. Sir, this must be an effect of the
great heat, for it is no language at all. It is a kind
of muttering only. It is not language.

68 Dear Hatkin, make him understand that there is awful grief
on us, but not a man of us here has a word of English. We are
all under enchantment.

70 The old hag put us under enchantment.

20

tttAC 111 UU1A1U:

n.Ac cu .an me^Uc^i|\ ! H-AC cu
*Oo tei5 cu O|\c n^c fiAib ^on *ouine
•oo tuis An ce-AtigA itiAltuiste feo corn tnxMt

cu

t>OCU1il1tt TT1AC

Sir, I certainly caught a couple of Japanese sounds
in that, [AS c\\AtA-6 A cmn],72 but it's not Japanese. I
know it is not, for I know every language.

tnAc

No, my lord, it's no language. I'm confident of
that, it's the heat that has done it. It's a disease
not unusual in these climates, my lord.

5tlt:

76

Stop ! Could it be Irish ? That was Irish.

71 Oh, are not you the deceiver, are not you the consummate rogue-
You pretended that there was no person iu Ireland who understood
this accursed tongue as well as yourself, and now it's plain you do
not understand a word of it.

72 Shaking his head.

r'3 Voices. M Ob, the villain ; oh, the decoivor. 7e Liar.

21

t>eAt1 An flft-IOIt&fO t^S t-eA£At> A Uithe A|t juAUinti
AH f ift-iotiAit>].715

Come away, Charles. Don't you see these men
e all drunk, every one of them. [t)o gm-o n COSAJI 5°
tfAccAc in A cluAif, AS |iAx> fiuit) eigiti ieip].77 O do come

are
away

tttAC 111 UHA1LL:

cu g^e-oeils A ttiteArhn<xig !
pnne 1 5C6trnnii'6e ^5 fixto n^C t\Aiti ^on
tu pein ! 78

Oh, my lord, it's Irish, it's Irish, I'm confident
now it's Irish.

pe xMMOtl Alt) :

Speak to them then in Irish, Dr. Hatkin, and ask
them what the devil is the matter with them. I
was told when I was coming here that these people
were loyal. If this is Irish it simply means treason.

mAc

Cxvo \\6 txtyUx — no ! that brings in the sign of com-
pleted action, the fvo, twice — cxvo — fi^tA — t)it) — ^ —
f oij\etro ? 79

7tiThe Lord Lieutenant's wife laying her hand on the Viceroy's
shoulder.

77 She v, hispers earnestly in his ear telling him something.

78 Villain, don't jTon understand Irish. And we always saying that
thero was no other Irish scholar in Ireland but yourself.

79 What has happened to ye, 0 troop. [Tht* /« an attempt at Old
or Middle Irish. — Translator,]

22
t!1

CxVO C-A re 1^-6 ? 80

ctncti me ? 81

tTIAC 111

82

Dr. Hafckin, will you now tell us what is all this.
What is that man saying ?

IttAC tiA1UC1ttH [-00
I don't know, [o^ AJI-O i 50 CAPA tiei-®].84 Ho is saying,
your Excellency, that it gives him and all his col-
leagues the greatest pleasure to welcome your Excel-
lencies to this college.

Ask them then, why they don't speak English.
Do you understand Irish yourself 1

Yes, my lord, perfectly. I understand all languages.

80 What is he saying ? 81 Do ye not understand me ? [Middle Irish. ]

82 Understand, is it ? Do you understand me, you leprechaun of
the beard. Oh, was it not greatly this college was deceived in you

83 Aside. M Aloud and volubly.

23

Then ask them.

toeAti An f

Charles, do coine away ; it's what I told you.

Patience, Jane, one moment.

ITIAC

— ejnib — 5^11 —

in AC ui

An cfe<iti-CxMlleAC tti^lltujce, <voiit:><Mjic me" te^c.
•oo cu\\\ ipA "b^oi-Oe-Acc finn lexVc-tuMji o foin.87

What does he say

He is saying, sir, that it is the excessively hot
woather that has made him unable to express him-
self in English. He adds that he hopes your
Excellency will excuse him, but he was sure you
would be pleased with the linguistic novelty

86 The Viceroy's wife.

86 What— is it— makes you — not to speak — Saxon-English. [An
attempt at Middle Irish.]

87 The accursed oM hag, I tokl you, who put us under an enchant-
ment half an horn ago.

24

[xx> leAt-tAoio] M Yes ! I'm sure now it's Irish, but of a
debased type.

rnAC u

O 61 pci "6 teif xMioif A CAit\t>e !

Will you kindly ask them, Dr. Hatkin, if they
mean this for an insult ?

ITIAC

"CA c£ite x*n fig A% PAV — AS fi^t) — ^5 f\AT> — w

tt1AC HI UUA1II:
An gcliim pb ^noif 6 ? " Ceile

1T1AC \11 UtHAItt:
te n--A rh6|v6<ACC 50 bpuitmi-o tiite
T)o'n fvig -Aguf *oiLev\f *oo'n fi-Aj^tc^f, nu\|\

o|\|\xxinn ni't ^on

Well, Dr. Hatkin ?

tttAC HA1UCinn:

He sa}^s, sir, that he has been reading a great
many books in Irish of late, and that he has been

88 Aside. 89 Oh, listen to him now, my friends.

90 The king's consort is saying — is saying — is saying —

81 Do you hear him now ? The " king's consort," he says ! " the king's
consort " ! !

92 Tell his Greatness that we are all loyal to the king and loyal to
the government as we ever were. We are now under enchantment,
but if there is a change of language on us there is no change of heart.

25

greatly impressed by the beauty of the language. In
that, however, I hold him to be utterly mistaken.

I am asking if this is a personal insult to my wife
and me, or is it meant for his Majesty ? It is nothing
else than a concerted plan to insult us.

1UAC
O ! 1 n-xMnm T)e A tflic Aiccinn -AbxMjt teif 50

ile-dp "oo'ti jug, 50 tij?uil 5JVA"
•oo'n CxMfte^n, ^gup t)'^ -ocAS^tin <AJ

[CeitieAti fe fiop &\( A ledc-jtuin i

UriitAijeAnn fe e pem t>o'n CAtAtri, f A5Ann fe A
A]t A cuoi-oe, Ajtif -oeiti fe <<t)ileAf ! -oileAf !"] M

Stop that tomfoolery.

[50 rApAt)ut|1ACCAc]:

O ! O ! cms me, 1 n-Ainm T)e, cuig me. C-A me
'otuc-fe, "oile^f "oot)' t><Mn-ceite, -oile^f •oo'n
^f "oo'n ^15, -oile^f "oo'n tixMfle^cc 50
me T)O Ct-AnnxMt> g^6*6^^-
i|\mn, if ^iix\t t>tMn tiom tix\
. tli'l eol-Ap ^p bit -Ag^m op^. Hi
in t)o Sx^cx\tiA ?6in S^CAn-A6 *oo

93 Oh, in the name of God, Hatkin, tell him that we are loyal to
the king, that we have an abounding love for the Castle and all that
comes out of it — observe now. [He goes down on one knee before
the Viceroy. He bows himself to the ground, he lays one hand upon
hi * heart, and repeats " loyal, loyal."]

y4 Lord Lieutenant [angrily].

20

VIA tnipe. -- Af\ 'oWixMYi cwi|\ pn 1 gceill T>6, A ttltc
nAiccmn, 4ft -an moimi-o, no bjiif pi-6 me t)o cloigionn.95

Well, Dr. Hatkin, the man seerns strangely moved.
What is it ?

tttAC tiA1CC1t1t1 :

He's talking, your Excellency, about the Gaelic
League and the Castle. He says this new language
would sound well in the Castle. Now I, your
Excellency, on the other hand, have put it on record
that the language is a low, indecent patois. It's
full of ribaldry, your Excellency.

IT1AC

An gcliiin fib 6 -Anoif ? An gcltim fib 6
f-At-ACxMp opjiAinn? ITIo letm, n,AC bpuxMfi me b^f int)e!
Ace [AS cojbAit A x>oitin], A itlic h-Aiccinn, cfieit) m6 50
mbeit) m6 corht|\om le^c-f ^ 50

tTlAC t)1 OI1A1U:
! A ttlic n-Aiccinn,

95Magaflfy [rapidly and earnestly]. — Oh, oh, understand me. For
God's sake, understand me. I am loyal to you, loyal to your consort,
loyal to the Castle, loyal to the King, loyal to the entire nobility. I
am a red enemy to the Clans of the Gael. I have a true disgust for
Iroland. I have a lasting hatred of Irishmen. I know nothing about
them. You would not get in your own England a better Englishman
than I. On your life, Hatkin, make him understand that, this
minute, or I'll break your head.

96 Do ye hear him now ? Do you hear him throwing dirt on us ? My
grief that I did not die yesterday, but [raising his fist] believe me,
Hatkin, I'll be even with you yet.

« Yes, Hatkin, we'll kill you.

IT! AC 111 CUA1U,:
me" Art freti^os f ATM fin Af -an rnbed tbioc

-A ttl6fvcu\cc.
beijtc no cjiiutt ACA 50 bASAficAc i jcoinne fhic

H f?in-ior)Aro:"

Oh, Charles, it's worse than drink; it's real
wickedness ; I see it in their eyes.

ITIAC tiA1CCint1:

My Lord, they are giving you, as I gather, advice
about how to learn this language ; but if you would
only come to my poor rooms, my Lord, I could sho\9
you certain horrors that -- [c^ann true CAtpxM-6 50

DASAjitAc Am-Ait Ajuf tJA tnbeit fe "out T>O bjieit Aiji.100. Oh, I

see now ! They want your Excellency to visit the
Library. I think we had better go down stairs. I
really think we had better withdraw. It's the hot
weather that's doing it.

re ^ft cut tntiA An ^ifMonAi-o •o'AfAbAit pem

Atl

Crof ton, this is treason. I see it now ; they mean to
kill me. Look to the ladies. Back, get baek, I say.

98 I'll pull that long beard out of him from the quick when his
Excellency goes. [Two or three come threateningly forward towards
Hatkin.]

99 The Lord Lieutenant's wife.

J0° Magaffy comes forward threateningly as if about to seize him.
101 He runs behind the wife of the Lord Lieutenant to save himseli
from Magaffy.

AIDE-DE-CAMP [AS Wicii]i«»
Treason, treason ! Police, police !

uile cjiit) -AH •ooftuf com CApA

lonncA, ACC TJO beiji An peAji-1onAi-o AJAI-O Aft An
5° SAifvjeAtriAit, Ajuf if e An peAfi •oeijieAnnAc AS
An cf eoinfiA.] 103

tn

1T)o letin nx\6 in An tie T>O

1TIAC

f-AoileAnn fe Anoif 5U|\ CfieAcuip mif e !
O A UigeAfvtiA ! mif e -oo t>i Com T>ileAf fm T>o'n
Aon rhAC-t6i5in WAf At j?tim A|\iArh,
c6rhAi-j\le -66 "out Ann,
n-mnfeocAinn t)6 An popA ip fAoipe A b
A CulAit) Ag«f A ClAit)eArh Ann, Ap An T>A|\A tAirh.106

IT1AC 111 UU1A1U:
tTlo biion cu, A tllic eAtpAi-6 ! 107

102 Shouting.

103 They all go through the door as fast as they are able, but the
Lord Lieutenant faces the enemy heroically, and is the last man to
leave the room.

104 My grief that it was not in the Liffey I was drowned yesterday.
106 Magaffy [tearing his hair].

106 And now he thinks that I am a traitor ! I, Oh Lord ! I who
was so loyal to the Castle that 1 never had a student of good birth
under me that I would not advise him to go there, and that I
wouldn't tell him the cheapest shop where he'd get his suit and his
sword second-hand.

107 ftjy grief, you are, Magaffy !

29

tttAC

tli f\Ait> peAjVlonAi-o f An gCAifleAn te pCe

n-innre6CA"6 *6uic nAC juMto mo leiteit) *o'feAj\
evince A^op c6rhfu\it> in fAn gCAifle^n fiArii. A
•oeijmn lit) nAC mbeic mp An sCAifleAn (munA mbett
mipe) ACc fgAUA ceAfic 5^11 coilteA6. Hi f\Aib me A(ic
Ag j?AnArhAinc 50 *ociuc]:Airm Cum beA^Ain Aoife le
t>eit im' «A6cA|\An A|\ An AIC feo. Agtif Anoif ACA
me Af ! X)o mill An IA ni'Oiu me ! 10S

U1 UR1A1U:

1f cuf A ACA Af , A tTlic GAtpAit) — 50 cmnce

mAC U1 CnAlU:
wile Af ! 1f r6 ^it)t>eAl e.110

til t>ef6 me be6 mi 6'n U mx)iu.m

ottArh eite:

t)Jf?eA|t|\ liom-f A t>eit

108 There was not a Viceroy in the Castle this twenty years who
would not tell you that there wasn't the like of me for a man of talk
and conversation in the Castle ever. I tell ye, there wouldn't have
been in the Castle, if it wasn't for myself, but a flock of hens with-
out a cock. I was only waiting till I came to a little age to be
Chief of this place. And now I'm out of it ! This day has de-
stroyed me.

109 It's you that are out of it, Magaffy, for certain !
1i° We are all out of it. It is too awful.

in I shan't be alive a month from to-day.
112 I'd sooner I were dead.

30

oltAtfi eite :

Hi beiti f Afxxt) -AH bit -A£,Ainn -Af -AJI

Ati cSeAti beAti bocc ApceAC Ajiip . €15 cjiit
tiA h-ottAmnAi6

Ati

me -Af\ -Aif

6151-6 x\5 cjut ^gtif -AS C|\AtAt) t\6rh^m. tli
e. Ci|\ if I An Cfe^n-be^n t>o6c t>
Cwi|\|:e-Af •oeife^t) tit)-fe 50 p6il. A
c|\oT6e, -A fciu^-Aije-Af -An cotAipce
>-f e -Aguf bup gcol^if x>
50 tedjt -AS pe^C-Amc o|\fix\ib -Ag trmC.At)
*oo t)i 1 n-£ittinn, ^giif Ctup Se A
t)o6c -Anoif le fvdt) lib 50 topuil mi-^-6
c^ e^6 x\5«f Cf-A'6, t>f\6n -Agiif t)^f 1 nt)^n tMoib. An
I\UT) but) 661^ t>,AOit> A ttiun-At), nio|\ rhvlin fib e. An
f\tjt) n^|\ 66ip •OxJiOib -A rhwn-At), fin e ^n fut) -00 rhuin
pb. An c-fig^n

fib m bii|\ Uonc-Aib, b^me^\nn fib An
t-df\ A Ct^ib -Ajtif cui|\exMin fib C|\oit>e
m -A -Aic. 1f tMome fib gx\n ci|\ $An c.AlAtfi,
^n feite, g^n mnumn g^n Aigne. I1i
fib leif ^n oite^n in ,Af\ 6ui|\ XDiA fib, C-A fib
t)-Aoine c^oCcxx f ti-Af le.A£-be.AtAi£ i-oi|\ ^n fpei|\
x\n c^tAfh. Hi b-Ainex\nn fib-fe te cl|\ n^ le
c,ALArh. S-Aoit fib Ati-Atn n^ h-6if\e-Ann t)o goix) lib —
teip f 6 ojt|\-Aib. An rh-dltACc X)o 6u|\ me
6 fom cOgxMm *oib

118 We shall have no satisfaction in our lives henceforth.

31

Hi leisp-o me" •o.Aoit) ^e^pc-A ce-Ang-A C,Aicitin n*
h-t!,AU.AC.Ain t)o c,Atn.A>6 -A^tif t)o c^fxyo. O me 45
imte^cc UAH) -Anoip, .ACC ctJirhmgitb xj^ -An mt) xvoeif\im
lib, 50 t>ptnt .AH Cf\ex*c x\$Uf x\n CJVA-O, .An rm-xvo
^n rmUeA'6, x\n upon xTgup x\n tMf , i nt)x$n
[lomptnjeAtin p A cut teo Agup imtiseAtin fi.] l14

tttAC

The hag is gone. What's that ? Is this English
I'm speaking ? It is, it is, it is ! Oh, thank God !
I can speak to a Lord Lieutenant again. Oh, where
is Tie gone ? Let me after him — and the dear Duchess.

f e x>e 11x1^15 6um Ati

114 [The poor old woman comes in again. A trembling of fear before
her falls upon the professors.] The old woman : — " I have come back
to yon, ye people of the English language. Yes, be shivering and
quaking before me. It is no wonder for you ; for it is the poor old
woman whom ye have robbed who shall yet make an end of you. Ye
people without a heart, who guide this college without a heart, I
proclaim you and your college lost ! God is long enough looking at
you, quenching every light that was in Erin, and He has sent the poor
old woman to you now to tell you that misfortune and destruction,
spoiling and ruin, grief and death, are in store for ycu. The thing that
ye ought to have taught, ye did not teach it. The thing that ye
ought not to have taught, that was the thing ye did teach. The light-
hearted Gaelic youth whom ye catch in your nets ye take away the
heart out of the midst of his breast, and ye place a foreign heart of
stone in its stead. Ye are people without a country, without a land,
without truth, without generosity, without mind, without courage.
Vre do not belong to the island in which God placed you. Ye are like
people hung up half-way between the sky and the earth. Ye belong
not to land or country. Ye thought to steal away the soul of Erin
with you, but it has failed you. The curse I gave you half an hour
ago I take it off you again. Speak English once more. I shall not
allow you to twist and wrench the tongue of Kathleen Ni Houlihan.
I am departing from you now, but remember the thing I tell you, that
misfortune and destruction, ruin and spoiling, grief and death, are in
store for you. [She turns her back upon them and goes out.]

115 He makes a rush for the door.

tn AC 11

Come back out of that. Are you mad ? They'll
put you in jail now if you follow them any more.
I tell you, you'd better not !

teir] :117

No, no, Magaffy ; no more Castle for you !
Never again, no more, Magafty !

eite:

Nor for any of us. It's no use, Magaffy. Come
back ; our Bubble is burst.

ttlAC

Oh, my God ! the Bubble is burst, is it ? Oh, my
God! Help me, some one. I — I — believe — I'm
dying.

e AtlA^AlT) A CUlt A]\ bjtOttA6 itllC 111 CjtAllt, T)O

in A ttijteAfcAitt ^-]119

[t>n^c An HAS]

116 Mac Ee Thraul [running after him and catching him].

117 Mac Ee Treeal [shutting the door and putting his back to it].

118 Raising his finger.

119 He falls backwards upon Mac Ee Thraul's breast, who catches
him in his arrna.

cU>-C«m.Arm (Ltd.),

lAlt) tYIOft At! C^IAJJA,

NOTES.

P2. — "He tells me he can't understand a word of it."

I would ask you to discount his evidence for this reason, —
you might be talking Irish to him till you were black in the
face and he would not understand one word of what you were
saying.

Evidence of President of Gaelic League. Report
of Viceregal Commission on Intermediate Edu-
cation. Blue book, p. 488.

?3. — "It's a dodge to secure money without earning it.''

The marks given by examiners in Irish are out of all propor-
tion higher than those given to the classical languages — a
difference of standard which threatens to become a scandal.

Athenasum, Nov. 23, 1901, in "Notes from Dublin/'
by its Dublin correspondent.

P3.— " Why they simply loathe it. 90 per cent, of them desire to have
done with it altogether."

The same result, that of improving the quality of Interme-
diate Education, would be promoted by abolishing perfectly
useless subjects, such as Irish. . . . there can be little doubt
that ninety per cent of Irish parents and teachers . . . are of
this opinion.

Article by Rev. J. Pentland Mahaffy, F.T.C.D. in " Nine-
teenth Century," Nov., 1898, p. 872, forwarded
to the Chairman of the Commission on Inter-
mediate Education as evidence.

P3. — «« Why all the modern cultivation oj the Irish language originated
ere in our own college."

All the modern cultivation of the Irish language originated
in Trinity College.

Evidence of Rev. Dr. Salmon, Provost of Trinity
College. Report of Royal Commission on
University Education in Ireland. Blue Book,
Vol. III., p. 371.

P4. — " Do you mean that tht Examiners overmark the boys."

The examination, I am told, is very much easier and the
qualifications very poor, and marks are given for very little
knowledge.

Evidence of Rev. J. P. Mahaffy, F.T.C.D. Report of
Viceregal Commission on Intermediate Educa-
tion. Blue Book, p. 23.

A language where the course is easy and the standard noto-
riously low. . . . The presence of Celtic in the examinations is
a positive evil, special inducements are held out to smatterers.
Ed. Gwynn, F.T.C.D. Evidence to Viceregal Com-
mission on Intermediate Education. First
Report. Blue Book, p. 159.

" I go on the principle that all marks given to Irish must be vvcrmarks,
because the subject in itself is so disgusting."

O. Would it satisfy you if the examination were made more
thorough and real than you allege that it is?

A. No, that would be worse, because it would introduce a
greater waste of time than that now wasted on it.

Evidence of Rev. J. P. Mahaffy, F.T.C.D., p. 37, Viceregal
Commission on Intermediate Education. Blue
Book.

P4- — "He's turning out as bad as any of them with his overmarking."

In summing up and in attempting to convey the impression
which the general character of the work done in Irish has made
upon him, the advising examiner desires to state emphatically
his opinion that a very real efficient and highly valuable work
is being carried on, perhaps not always with adequate success,
and sometimes on false lines, but undoubtedly with great
earnestness and devotion on the part of teachers and pupils
alike, and on the whole with highly satisfactory result?. What
has struck him most is the intelligence and interest displayed,
and where this was supported by a sound training the result in
scholarly knowledge of the subject has been beyond anything
that he expected to find. He feels that with students such as
these there is nothing that might not in due time and under
more favourable conditions be attempted and accomplished. It
is from among them that the future philologists and historians
of Ireland should arise. If the work were carried on to higher
stages — if every year the best among the more advanced pupils
were but given a chance of continuing their Irish studies at a
University, an inestimable benefit would be conveyed on the
cause of Irish studies both in their native land and abroad.

Report of Dr. Kuno Meyer, Advising Examiner,
published in the Report of the Intermediate
Education Board for Ireland for the year 1902,
p. xxiv.

P6. — " They have never learned that there was never any svch thing as
an Irish literature. ' '

The two Irish scholars known to me as men of learning and
of high cultivation in other respects — as men who have thor-
oughly mastered other languages — appear among the witnesses

in the recent Blue Book who are against the study of Irish in
the schools. As I know perfectly well that the education and
judgment of these men far exceed those of the fervent advo-
CP^-S on the other side, what can I do but follow them? They
tell me that there is no body of literature in the so-called
classical Irish which they have studied for years, and that
nothing valuable is to be learned from it except philological
facts and perhaps folk-lore.

Article in the " Nineteenth Century " by Rev. J. P.
Mahaffy, F.T.C.D. Aug., 1899, p. 217.

P6. — " The language is extremely impoverished . . as our own
experts have shown."

In this respect [as an educational instrument] it appears to
me that modern Irish has little to recommend it, its syntax is
monotonous and undeveloped. Modern Irish literature has, so
far as I know, little or no value qua literature. It certainly
possesses no general interest nor significance in the history of
European thought.

Evidence of Edward Gwynn, F.T.C.D., Todd
Professor of Irish. First Report of Viceregal
Commission on Intermediate Education, p. 159.

p26. — It's jull oj ribaldry, your Excellency."

If I were to express an opinion about it, I would say it would
be difficult to find a book in which there was not some passage
so silly or so indecent as to give you a shock from which you
would never recover during the rest of your life.

Evidence of Dr. Robert Atkinson, Professor of
Sanscrit in Trinity College. Report of Vice-
regal Commission on University Education.
Blue Book, p. 642.

Pay. — " // you would come to my poor rooms, my Lord, I would show
you certain horrors that '

Now, all I can say is that no human being would read
through that book, containing an immense quantity of Irish
matter, without feeling that he had been absolutely degraded by
contact with it — filth that I will not demean myself even to
mention — . . . and if you will call at any time upon me in my
rooms I will show you them, and you can get them translated
by anyone who would put it on paper.

Evidence of Dr. Robert Atkinson, Professor of
Sanscrit in Trinity College, Dublin. Report of
Viceregal Commission on Intermediate Educa-
tion. Blue Book, p. 641.

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